Book Review: The Insider Threat by Brad Taylor

The Insider Threat: A Pike Logan Thriller was NCIS meets Covert Affairs in a book. It’s even complete with a Ziva character, an Israeli Mosad agent, who shows up in the middle of Pike Logan’s assignment. It’s when the original assignment becomes a mission to stop a massive public ISIS attack that the book becomes a page-turner.

“The United States has anticipated and averted countless attacks from terrorist groups—thanks in large part to the extralegal counter terrorist unit known as the Taskforce. But in The Insider Threat, a much more insidious evil is about to shatter the false sense of safety surrounding civilized nations. While world powers combat ISIS on the battlefield, a different threat is set in motion by the group—one that can’t be defeated by an airstrike. Off the radar of every Western intelligence organization, able to penetrate America or any European state, they intend to commit an act of unimaginable barbarity. Only Pike Logan and the Taskforce stand in the way of an attack no one anticipates, a grand deception that will wreak unthinkable chaos and reverberate throughout the Western world. (from here)”

Unlike typical books, each chapter is a different character. There is not just one character you follow throughout the book. Like watching either of the above shows on a screen, you are observing in your mind as it plays out from your livingroom, while sipping a glass of wine. The initial enemies are three boys recently recruited by ISIS. All three came from a Christian home that had abused them. At first, the characters references to Christianity are harsh. The farther along you get in the book, the heavier the Catholic overtones as the action intensifies. Swear words are numerous, and considering this is a military novel, it’s commonplace for a soldier to swear in the heat of battle. The book’s ending was unexected, even sad (from a Christian point of view).

Brad Taylor is a veteran of the U.S. Army Infantry and Special Forces (DELTA Force). I gave this book four stars.